Commonly used methods of manufacturing brushes, such as toothbrushes, hairbrushes, and cleaning brushes, often include the process of binding or joining monofilament bristles into tufts. This approach to brush construction involves a number of manufacturing steps. The monofilament bristles must first be produced and cut to the appropriate length. The resulting bristles must then be collected into the tufts and the tufts bound together. The tufts are then inserted individually into the base or head of the brush and secured therein using friction adhesives or fastening systems. The several processing steps involved in these processes increase the amount of machinery needed to produce brushes with a resulting cost to the consumer.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,635,313 to Fassler et al. shows a process for manufacturing brushes in which the ends of the bristles used to form a tuft are fused into a ball. The head of the brush is then molded around the ball shaped ends of the tufts. The ball shaped ends are shaped and formed so that they hold the tuft into the body of the brush.
Despite the apparent simplicity of brushes to the consumer, there remains a need in the art for improved brushes which are more economical to produce and capable of more flexibility in the characteristics of the resulting brush. The present invention represents a new and unique approach to the manufacture of brushes.